What's interesting, in the basic static analysis of a problem like that, the weight of the water from the inside part of the pool is a big benefit to countering the cantilever end moment. In a practical sense though, it probably took some unusual gymnastics in the detailing, but nothing too wild.

Mr Guy:Killahertz: Headso: Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

Yes, it would. In a very similar manner to which the concrete street would break your fall.

In an identical manner, in that water doesn't compress for crap, and would almost instantly transfer the full force of the bottom of the water hitting the pavement to your body before you even hit the ground. If the water was deep enough, you could probably make it so you died from hitting the pavement while you're still just slightly above the first floor. That's where the rope, the super glue, and the piano wire come into play.

Ta-daa.

You'd get a bit of energy dispersion as the water column expands laterally, parallel to the ground, since the water column wouldn't be bounded ... but not enough to make any real difference. Essentially, this is an identical situation to being too near an underwater explosion; shockwave impact on a submerged body. The real question would be how much the wind resistance on the trip down broke up the coherent leading surface of the water column; the more discontinuous it was when it impacted, the more energy dispersion and dissipation would occur.

I do wonder what the aftermath would look like, though. The shockwave traveling back up the water column - and through the body - would likely tear apart the internal organs (lungs are especially susceptible to this). However, in typical long-fall impacts the skin tends to rupture as the buildup of internal forces basically cause the body to explode on impact. With all the hydrostatic pressure of the surrounding the body due to the water column, though, perhaps the pressure differential would be low enough to prevent this?

/The piano wire and superglue is a fascinating proposition//Did you remember to account for the floaty pool-toy coefficient?

meanmutton:Headso: Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

No.

You're still going to accelerate to terminal velocity. I don't know what water's terminal velocity is but it's certainly not the same as yours so you'll either hit before the water does or after it'shiat and started to disperse. Either way, you're still going insanely fast and will have a very unpleasant and abrupt stop.

Probably a death sentence...but, IF the 'column' of water was a) deep enough, and b) you didn't fall right out the bottom as it dispersed into droplets with a lower terminal velocity than your body, AND c) the water landed first, partly contained, so as to form an aerated cushion rather than a liquid mass, you might have a chance.That's not even considering the glass.

tonguedepressor:Headso: Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

Only if you were holding onto the top of it.

It would actually make matters worse, since the mass of the water (at 8 lbs/gal) would be added to yours, increasing the force with which you strike the ground. You' be pretty much a mess, but a clean one.

I think this is the exact right analogy, given the distances and materials involved. I think you'd get a lot compression cuts all over the skin, rupture lungs, eyes, and ears, and just generally be a pink oozey blob of former human by a foot or too above the ground. You'd definitely have SOME of the force escape horizontally, but you're going to splat.

Theaetetus:Headso: Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

Yes, but only if you swim up.

I had the same answer, dammitsomuch. Still, the water won't stay in a column as it falls. Basically, the water, the glass, you, and your fellow swimmers will "rain" down upon the passers-by. Or onto the roof of the building below.

JackieRabbit:tonguedepressor: Headso: Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

Only if you were holding onto the top of it.

It would actually make matters worse, since the mass of the water (at 8 lbs/gal) would be added to yours, increasing the force with which you strike the ground. You' be pretty much a mess, but a clean one.

Remember boys and girls: physics is your friend.

I thought the holding onto the top of it would trigger it but apparently not. Thanks.

Yeah... fark that. If for no other reason, than because a hole in that glass would suck everyone in the whole damn pool out like a drain, even if you were not the drunk idiot hitting it with a hammer to prove it wont break, or whatever.

Seriously, wow, a view of a roof below you, not even a nice garden or anything.

You know what would be far more entertaining? Regular pool with a glass bottom over a giant LCD screen. The screen shows arial video so it seems that you are actually flying over something interesting, not just the hotel worker's smoke break stop.

JackieRabbit:since the mass of the water (at 8 lbs/gal) would be added to yours, increasing the force

Morbo says, "GRAVITY DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY".

That's true if you're concerned with the force the entire mass impacts the ground with. We're interested in the force that's being put into the body inside the mass. The only thing we need an expert on is to tell us how much the water column would spread over 240ish feet, when being preceded by a layer of tempered glass to cut down drag, and how much of the force vector is redirected outwards instead of upwards. It definitely won't matters WORSE, although depending on the coherency of the column, it could make your sudden stop quite a few feet higher than you may originally anticipate.

Headso:Now that brings up a question... If you fell 24 stories inside a pillar of water also falling 24 stories would the water break your fall at all?

At all? Yes. Enough to matter in the long run, not even close. Also, I'm no physics major, but I'm pretty sure you and the water are going to fall at rather different rates. Or more specifically, the water is going to spread out in transit, a lot.

Seriously, wow, a view of a roof below you, not even a nice garden or anything.

You know what would be far more entertaining? Regular pool with a glass bottom over a giant LCD screen. The screen shows arial video so it seems that you are actually flying over something interesting, not just the hotel worker's smoke break stop.

I read that as *anal* video. And yes, that would be far more entertaining.

lunchinlewis:What's interesting, in the basic static analysis of a problem like that, the weight of the water from the inside part of the pool is a big benefit to countering the cantilever end moment. In a practical sense though, it probably took some unusual gymnastics in the detailing, but nothing too wild.

Pretty sure you would want the engineers to calculate everything with NO water in the pool - it ain't full during construction.

maureen_g:lunchinlewis: What's interesting, in the basic static analysis of a problem like that, the weight of the water from the inside part of the pool is a big benefit to countering the cantilever end moment. In a practical sense though, it probably took some unusual gymnastics in the detailing, but nothing too wild.

Pretty sure you would want the engineers to calculate everything with NO water in the pool - it ain't full during construction.

But without water, the load on the cantilevered end is just dead load. As you fill it, the load on both ends changes. It's a weird problem and probably involves complicated integrals and crap like that. It's why I stuck with architecture and hire people to do the tough stuff.